Showing 213 results

Authority record

Duffus, Maureen

  • E0001
  • Person
  • 1926-2018

Maureen Duffus is a well-known local historian and author of several books and numerous articles about the history of Vancouver Island from the 1840s to the mid-20th Century. Maureen grew up on the waterfront on View Royal Avenue, born to two lawyers. She attended Craigflower elementary, but in the newer school, across the street from where her grandmother attended classes. Maureen was married to the late Dr. John Duffus, professor emeritus, former Dean of Science and Engineering, Royal Roads Military College. She has two sons, two grandchildren, and a great-grandaughter.

After graduating from the University of British Columbia she was a journalist at the Victoria Daily Times and the Ottawa Citizen. She spent several years in England where her occupations included secretary and driver for the touring Oxford and Cambridge Players theatrical company, a vibrant and eclectic group that foundered soon after its short run as a fringe show at the Edinburgh Festival. She returned to Victoria as a newspaper reporter, columnist and section editor, and produced an illustrated history of Victoria fashions for the Centennial Edition of the Daily Colonist. She later served as communications officer for the Institute of Ocean Science where she specialized in "translating science into English for non-scientists." In 2012, she was presented the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Town of View Royal for her community work as an archivist and notable citizen. Some of the organizations she has volunteered at include the Victoria Music Festival, Esquimalt Silver Threads Society, and the View Royal Community Archives committee.

Maureen is also related so several early families of the area. Her great-grandparents, James and Mary Yates, after whom Yates Street is named, arrived in Fort Victoria in 1849. Another great grandfather, Philip Austin, was an Esquimalt Councillor in 1916.

Robinson, Sherri

  • E0002
  • Person

Sherri Robinson is a fifth-generation Esquimalt resident, the great-great granddaughter of pioneers James and Elizabeth Bland who established the Halfway House on the old Esquimalt Road in 1859. An Esquimalt High School grad, she is a researcher, writer, genealogist, storyteller and historian. Sherri is the Volunteer Archivist for the township and has more than 40,000 hours of volunteer time spanning over thirty years to her credit. She conceived and wrote seven Township Walking Tours. She is the author of "Esquimalt Street and Roads: a History" published in 1995 and "Esquimalt Centennial 1912-2012". She also wrote and performed a one woman play, Passion and Intrigue in Old Esquimalt Village. She is a member of the Old Cemeteries Society and participates as a tour guide at Ross Bay Cemetery. Sherri chaired the Esquimalt Heritage Advisory Committee for at least 10 years. She is the recipient of two Hallmark Society communication awards and in 2010 she received the Esquimalt Medal of Merit for service to the community. Sherri and her husband Darwin, have four adult children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, and live in a 1911 heritage home on historic Old Esquimalt Road.

McGrath, Betty

  • E0003
  • Person
  • 1929-2021

Betty was born in Napanee, ON in 1929 to Arthur Moore and Audrey Neilson. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Bloomfield, Prince Edward County, ON. In 1948, she married Julien "Mac" McGrath and moved to Victoria. As a military wife, Betty lived in BC, AB, MB, NB and Germany, returning to Victoria in 1964. Betty's career spanned many years, in banking and the federal civil service.

Boutiler, Francis Jack

  • E0004
  • Person
  • 1941-2020

Jack Boutilier was born on September 1, 1941 in Regina. He came to the west coast as a member of the HMCS Naden Band before starting his career in Parks and Recreation, working in North Vancouver, Vernon, Powell River and finally Esquimalt, where he was employed as the Director of Parks and Rec from 1978-2000. An avid volunteer, he held numerous leadership positions with Provincial and National curling and recreation organizations, the Commonwealth Games, Victoria Jazz Festival, David Foster Fundraiser, Rotary Club and various sporting events. Jack was a member of the Chief and Petty Officers’ Association Band, practicing his tuba in the garage, much to the chagrin of his family. He and his wife, Mary Syvlia, were married in 1966 and had one daughter.

Van Dalen, Jack

  • E0005
  • Person
  • 1925-2008

Jack Van Dalen was born in 1925 in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, where he apprenticed with the city parks department. In 1951 he immigrated to Canada, and in 1958 he moved to Esquimalt. He became an employee of the Municipality of Esquimalt in 1962, eventually being named Parks Manager in 1974. Van Dalen completed the four-year correspondence course in horticulture through the University of Guelph. He retired on August 31, 1985.

Craven, Ruth

  • E0006
  • Person
  • 1929-2021

Ruth Craven is the daughter of Harry and Kitty Craven, who came to Esquimalt from Portsmouth, England, in 1912. Harry Craven was a plumber at Dockyard. She passed away on August 17, 2021.

Petch, Velma Mary

  • E0007
  • Person
  • 1911-1996

Velma Mary Petch (nee Jacklin) was born in Victoria, B.C., Oct. 17, 1911. She married George Petch, and she served as matron of Esquimalt Chapter #41, Order of the Eastern Star. Velma Petch died Sept. 8, 1996.

Dunlop, Pat

  • E0010
  • Person
  • 1921-

J.D. (Pat) Dunlop (nee Braddock) was born in England in 1921. She later married George Francis Dunlop on March 14, 1945. George's parents were Dorothy and James Somerville Dunlop. The Dunlops were active in community affairs in Esquimalt.

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